Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Electrum nabs major share of Victoria Gold financing

Victoria Gold Corp. April 20 reported plans to raise C$24 million through a private placement of 80 million units at C30 cents each. Electrum Strategic Opportunities Fund L.P. has subscribed to 60 million of the offered units and Sun Valley Gold LLC has subscribed to the remaining 20 million units. Upon closing of the private placement, Electrum is expected to own roughly 13.6 percent of Victoria Gold’s issued and outstanding shares while Sun Valley, already a significant shareholder, will increase its ownership to around 18 percent. Electrum Strategic Opportunities Fund is a member of the Electrum Group of Companies that is managed by The Electrum Group LLC, founded and majority-owned by the family of Thomas Kaplan who serves as Electrum’s chairman and chief investment officer. Electrum’s holdings include significant stakes in Novagold Resources Inc.; Kaminak Gold Corp.; NovaCopper Inc.; and Wellgreen Platinum Ltd. Electrum also owns a controlling stake in Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Corp., owner of the historical Sunshine Mine in Idaho and the Los Gatos project in Mexico. Each unit to be issued in the Victoria Gold private placement will consist of a common share and half of a warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Victoria Gold share at C40 cents for a period of three years. Electrum will have the right to nominate one person for election to Victoria Gold’s board of directors and a right to participate in any future proposed equity offering in order to maintain its pro rata stake in Victoria Gold, subject to certain exceptions. The net proceeds of the financing will be used to continue exploration and development of the Eagle Gold project at Victoria Gold’s Dublin Gulch gold property in central Yukon Territory. Victoria plans to develop an open-pit mine and valley heap leach operation at Eagle that would produce 192,000 ounces of gold annually for roughly nine years, based on probable reserves of 92 million metric tons averaging 0.78 grams per metric ton (2.3 million oz.) gold. Overall, Eagle Gold hosts 222 million metric tons of indicated resources averaging 0.68 g/t (4.9 million oz.) gold, inclusive of probable reserves, and 78 million metric tons of inferred resources averaging 0.60 g/t (1.5 million oz.) gold. Eagle Gold has received all major permits for construction and operations and completed the environmental assessment process. Victoria is currently drilling Olive-Shamrock, an exploration target located about 2,000 meters from the proposed infrastructure at Eagle Gold. A maiden resource estimate for Olive-Shamrock is anticipated to be included in an updated Eagle Gold feasibility study scheduled to be released this fall.

- Shane Lasley